Dear English professor,
As you were not in class last week, I was forced to write this without knowing what you are looking for. I hope this suits you well.
-Samantha
I grew up going to church camp every summer from 2nd grade to 12th grade. I (or my mom) would make the drive to good ‘ole Gonzales, Texas where I’d spend anywhere from 3 days to a week in what my camp friends and I called “home.” The summer before my freshman year of high school I got the opportunity to attend Eighter’s Camp; this was a special camp just for students going into the 9th grade and supposedly the best camp I would ever attend in my lifetime. What is Eighter’s Camp and why is it the best camp? Well, we came to find that the “also known as” name was Sex Camp. I know what you’re thinking, “A church camp also known as sex camp, really?” While attending this camp we not only learned the educational side of sex but the religious side as well. I remember my 8th grade year when we had sex ed. in our science class, it was to say the least, interesting. Being fresh out of 8th grade, I had a lot of comparing to do while I was at Eighter’s. However, I learned a lot more about sex during this camp than I did in school. I know there are rules and stipulations public school educators must follow because this is such a “racy” topic but come on people, middle school and high school students should be educated on this topic not just taught abstinence.
So, what causes teenage pregnancy? We could sit here all day and come up with a plethora of reasons. We all know that you have to have sex to get pregnant, duh, but what leads two teenagers to having sex with each other? Is it all of the television shows like “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant” on MTV? What about movies like “Pregnancy Pact” and “Too Young to be a Mom” on Lifetime? Do you think that teenage girls see those shows and movies and think, “Oh, that won’t happen to me” or “I’m on birth control, I can’t get pregnant?” I have a strong belief that teens are tempted by the teaching of abstinence to have sex. When you were a kid or teenager and an adult told you not to do something, what did you do? You did it, right? That’s what happens when these educators teach these children “not to have sex”, that’s what abstinence is, not having sex. Now, I’m not sitting here saying that ALL teenagers are going to do something they’re told not to do but when I was in middle school and high school I knew a lot of people who tested their parents. The law according to the Texas Education code states: “present abstinence from sexual activity as the preferred choice of behavior in relationship to all sexual activity for unmarried persons of school age.” ‘As the preferred choice of behavior’ I can agree with that, as it should be considering sex IS a special gift from God, but telling them not to do something is only going to make them want to do it more. As I went through high school I could count girls who I knew using more than one hand, that were my age, that were pregnant and/or had had an abortion (that’s another argument on its own). I remember the things I learned at Eighter’s camp, one; sex is a gift from God. Two; my body isn’t even fully developed yet and three; you don’t know who that person has been with or if they have any type of diseases. There is also the “peer pressure” point as well, and honestly if your friends pressure you into doing something you probably shouldn’t be friends with them anyway. Educating teenagers on the EFFECTS of pregnancy is what should be taught in schools.
Now, I don’t know much about having kids but I was a preschool teacher for almost 5 years and I know kids. To be honest, there is NO WAY I would want to be 15 or 16 and have an infant. Like the causes of teen pregnancy, we could sit here all day and make a list of effects. The obvious effect is having a child. Look, I didn’t even start my period until I was 14 and honestly, I had NO idea what was happening to me. But now there are girls who are having sex AND getting pregnant at this age. Yes, it was probably happening when I was that age but it’s not a “big deal” like it is today. These girls are children and they are having children. Like I mentioned earlier, some of these girl’s bodies aren’t even fully developed yet. The bones in the body are immature and they run the risk of having spinal and pelvic injuries. There is also health risks involved when a teenage girl gets pregnant, the prenatal stage is the most important part of birth. If a mother, whether she is 15 or 32, does not take proper prenatal care the child can be born with birth defects. It is important for any child-bearing person to have a healthy diet, exercise regularly and rest. Most babies born to young moms are either premature or have a low birth weight, they can also have mental and physical problems later in their life. Some babies even die during this process, people that will never get the chance to live life like we are right now. According to Students Against Deconstructive Decisions say 31% of girls will become pregnant at least once before they are 20. That’s one in every three girls. There are also the effects of STD’s that can be overlooked and shaken off by teens because they have that “I’m invincible” attitude. Also on the SADD website it says that nationwide 14.3% of high school students have had sex with 4 or more people. 4 or more before you turn 18? Really? Think of 1 person times the 4 people they’ve slept with and multiply that by 4 and so on and so on, that’s a lot of bodies and a lot of things you wouldn’t want in your body. STD’s are also on the rise among teenagers, 50% of sexually active teens will contract one by the age of 25. After hearing that and being educated on what STD’s can do, it makes me not want to have sex either, it actually grosses me out.
Middle school and high school teenagers need to be educated on sex, not just taught abstinence. The causes and effects of teenage pregnancy and sexual activity is a major deal and shouldn’t be tossed around like it’s nothing. We’re talking about someone’s life here. I mentioned before that I knew people in high school that had kids, and now some of those kids are starting kindergarten and first grade with mom’s who are 21 and 22, imagine having a 6 year old right now, would you be here going to school at AI? I’ve seen first hand the struggles of single mom’s my age and for having such a big passion for children, it’s hard for me to see them one; being raised without a dad and two; being raised in a broken family. In most cases, the single mom’s were also raised by a single mom or came from a broken family.
Now, I’m not saying that all teenage girls are going to stop having sex but learning about what sex can do to you and the effects of having a child at a young age could change their minds if they are educated properly.
No comments:
Post a Comment